An Allegory in Grey and a Dutch Clue. A Painting Attributed to Franciszek Smuglewicz from the Collection of the National Museum in Warsaw

The article is an analysis of an allegorical en grisaille painting attributed to Franciszek Smuglewicz. In the article, I refer to earlier interpretations of the work and present new findings. Throughout its exhibition history, the piece, now listed in the museum inventory under the title Emperor Titus Granting Rights to Rome (1785, MP 3174), was also known as A Reception (Captio) of a Vestal, and since 2017 as The Captio of Rhea Silvia. However, the iconographic model for the main scene is the reverse legend on a Roman coin minted during the reign of Emperor Vespasian with a depiction of Roma resurge[n]s (c.71 A.D.). Therefore, I propose the tentative title Allegory of Rome Raised from its Fall by Emperor Vespasian. Furthermore, the existence of a drawing which is a template for this composition, attributed to the Dutch artist Gérard de Lairesse (1641–1711) or his workshop, discovered in past catalogues of two British auction houses, casts doubt on the traditional attribution of the painting.